About the Workshop
The workshop is designed for professional geologists and graduate students working with and/or interested in hydrothermally altered and/or metamorphosed Precambrian volcanic rocks associated with submarine volcanic-associated mineralization, as well as structurally deformed and hydrothermally altered rocks associated with mesothermal-type lode gold deposits. Emphasis will be placed on the physical and field characteristics of rocks associated with these deposits, as well as the theoretical concepts associated with the genesis of these ore systems.

The workshop will lead off with an informal icebreaker and lecture on the evening of October 5. A two-and-one-half-day long short course involving lectures and labs will be conducted in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Minnesota Duluth on October 6 - 8. Three days of field investigation in the Sturgeon Lake area (northwestern Ontario VMS), the Rainy River area (northwestern Ontario gold), and the Western Vermilion district (northern Minnesota VMS and gold) concludes the workshop on October 9 -11. Participants will return to Duluth the morning of Sunday, October 12.

Workshop InstructorsListed below are bios of the scheduled list of instructors for the short course.

Field Trip
(Thursday, October 9 – Sunday, October 12)
A three-day long field trip will investigate the well-preserved, hydrothermally altered and metamorphosed volcanic rocks which host VMS and lode gold deposits within the Wabigoon and Wawa subprovinces of the Superior Province (see figure below). Participants will receive a guidebook for the field trip.

Thursday, October 9: Sturgeon Lake area
In the Sturgeon Lake area of northwestern Ontario, one of the world’s best preserved mineralized Neoarchean caldera complexes will be investigated. Features that will be investigated include caldera-collapse associated meso- and megabreccia deposits, voluminous subaqueously deposited felsic tuffs and lapilli tuffs, well preserved mafic-intermediate pillow lavas, pillow breccias, hyaloclastite and peperites, submarine lava domes and dome-associated breccia deposits, and replacement-style volcanogenic massive sulfide mineralization. Additionally, various alteration mineral assemblages and their spatial relationships to synvolcanic fault zones will be observed and evaluated.

Friday, October 10: Rainy River area
The second day of the field trip will be devoted to viewing the geologic setting lode gold deposits within poorly exposed rocks of the Rainy River district of the Wabigoon Subprovince. Due to thick overburden cover and a paucity of outcrop, much of the geological interpretation of the Rainy River area has been based on the aeromagnetic data, geological mapping, and rotasonic drilling carried out in the late 1980’s by the Ontario Geological Survey (OGS), and on data collected from over 700 reverse circulation drill hole completed by Nuinsco Resources Limited between 1994 and 1999. The OGS program resulted in the discovery of a high level of pristine gold grains in Richardson Township. The trip intends to view the products of an advanced exploration program by Rainy River Resources in Richardson Township.

Saturday, October 11: Lake Vermilion District
In the Vermilion District of northeastern Minnesota, a Neoarchean, mafic-intermediate, lava flow-dominated submarine volcanic sequence will be studied. Geological studies suggest that this succession is representive of a submarine succession deposited in increasingly deeper water during the transition from an arc to back-arc environment. As such, field evidence for evaluating ancient water depth interpretations (flow facies, volcaniclastic strata, alteration and mineralization styles) will be discussed. Field trip stops will evaluate exceptionally well-preserved pillow lavas, sheet flows, peperites base-metal enriched exhalites and Algoma-type iron formations. Additionally, regionally extensive semi-conformable (quartz-epidote) and localized disconformable (chlorite-sericite) alteration zones will be visited. The well-exposed Mud Creek Road area of the Vermilion hosts several of the classic styles of lode gold mineralization, including: 1) pyritic shear zones, 2) auriferous quartz-carbonate veins in felsic intrusive rocks, and 3) sulfidized iron formation. The Mud Creek Shear Zone is analogous to classic major shear zones in Ontario (Destor-Porcupine, Kirkland Lake-Cadillac Break). The field trip will investigate all of these features and how they are interrelated.

Portion of the Bedrock Geology of Ontario map (OGS Map 2542) showing the field trip area locations.

Travel to Canada
To avoid any complication at the U.S.-Canadian border, all participants are required to carry a valid passport during the field trip. According to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiatives (WHTI) regulations from the US Homeland Security Department, US-Canadian border crossings by land require US and Canadian citizens to present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license, along with proof of citizenship, such as a passport, birth certificate, or naturalization certificate.

Registration and Fees
Registration for this hands-on workshop islimited to 22 participants with preference given to PRC members*. Three slots at a discounted rate will be reserved for students enrolled in MS or PhD programs (see requirements below). All other participants will be accepted to the workshop on a first come – first serve basis contingent upon receipt of the registration form and full payment of the workshop fee.

Participants will be responsible for all other meals not indicated above, as well as their hotel accommodations in Duluth and transportation to and from Duluth.

College Credits and Tuition
All registrants will receive a certificate of participation at the completion of the workshop that indicates involvement in 40 contact hours of instruction. Registrants also have the option of receiving 2.5 undergraduate credits from the University of Minnesota Duluth for participating in this workshop and submitting brief reports.
Course Name: GEOL 5095, Sec. 241 - Special Topics: Precambrian Volcanic Rocks, Hydrothermal Alteration, and Associated Mineral Deposits
Instructor of Record: Prof. Ron Morton, UMD Department of Geological Sciences
Tuition Fee: $233.90 ($88/credit for tuition; $5.56/credit for UMD Information Technology Systems and Services fee)
Requirements: To receive full credit for the course, participants must:

Participate in all aspects of the short course and field trip

Submit a 2- to 3-page reflection paper on each of the three short course sessions

Complete an evaluation of various alteration mineral assemblages and their spatial relationships to synvolcanic fault zones

Complete a course evaluation form

Requirements 2-4 must be submitted to the instructor by December 15, 2008 to receive Spring 08 credit.

Notice of Acceptance and Cancellation Policy
Upon receipt of completed registration form and full payment, a preliminary notice of acceptance will be sent. If the course fills before the registration deadline, you can request to be put on a waiting list and your check held. Because a limited number of PRC members have priority for the course at any time before the registration deadline, it is possible (but unlikely) to be bumped from the workshop by a PRC member, especially for late registrants. A final notice of acceptance to the workshop will be sent by September 22.

A full course refund is given if notice of cancellation is received by September 29. Our program obligations make it necessary to assess a charge equal to one-half of the course fee for later cancellations. No course refund is possible after the course begins on October 5

Graduate Student Registration
Up to three graduate students enrolled in accredited M.S. or Ph.D. programs in Canadian or US colleges during the 2007-2008 academic year may attend the workshop at a discounted registration rate of $1100. Student registrations must be accompanied by:

a letter by the student briefly describing how the workshop pertains to their thesis research and their career goals.

a letter of recommendation from their thesis advisor commenting on the qualifications of the student and the usefulness of this workshop to the student’s thesis research.

Students registrations do not initially require payment of fees. If more than 3 students register, the three most qualified students will be chosen and notified by September 22. Upon notification of acceptance into the workshop, students will be expected to pay the registration fee (and tuition costs, if requested) by September 29.

About DuluthDuluth, the world’s largest freshwater inland port, is located at the western tip of Lake Superior, midway between the Twin Cities of Minneapolis / St. Paul and the Canadian border. Nestled in the hills overlooking the largest of the Great Lakes, the city offers breathtaking scenery and serves as the gateway to abundant recreational opportunities.

Persons desiring additional information about Duluth can call the Duluth Convention and Visitors Bureau at 1-800-4-DULUTH (438-5884) or visit their website (http://www.visitduluth.com/). For additional information about Minnesota, call the Minnesota Office of Tourism at 888-TOURISM (868-7476) or visit their website at http://www.exploreminnesota.com/.

Air and Ground Transportation to Duluth
Daily flights into Duluth International Airport (www.duluthairport.com/) are provided by Northwest Airlines with up eight flights daily arriving from Minneapolis-St. Paul and two from Detroit. Transportation from the airport to area hotels and motels is available by taxi at reasonable rates and some hotels provide shuttle service (check with your hotel). Rental cars may also be obtained at the airport from Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz, and National.

If you are flying out of Duluth on Sunday, October 19, we will be returning from the field trip by 9:30 AM and will drop participants off at the airport. This will allow participants to catch nonstop Northwest Airline flights to Minneapolis scheduled to depart at 10:49 AM and 12:40 PM and an early afternoon nonstop flight to Detroit which departs at 1:25 PM.

Hotel Accommodations
Participants are expected to reserve and pay for their own hotel accommodations for the time (3 nights) we will be in Duluth - Sunday night (10/5) thru Wednesday morning (10/8). For ease of collecting and transporting people to and from UMD by van, we request that you book accommodations in one of the Downtown/Canal Park area hotels listed below at least for the first four nights. The locations of these hotels are shown on the map below. The Inn on Lake Superior, the location of the Sunday night reception, has a block of 15 rooms reserved for the workshop at a negotiated rate ($106 + tax). These rooms will only be held until September 5and you must request the “PRC Workshop”rate. Rates listed for other hotels are not guaranteed and are subject to change. Be aware that this is “color season” in northern Minnesota and other conference are in town that week, so book your accommodations as soon as possible.